When Wade, Harry, and Ron approached together, the people at the Hufflepuff table immediately lit up.
"Hey! They're here!" Michael waved vigorously, beaming as he called, "Over here!"
"You've all got to try this. The kitchen just made a new batch of meat pies, and they're absolutely incredible!" Theo said, picking up a steaming pie to show them.
"You can thank Neville for that," Ryan said with a smile. "He taught the House-elves Old Mrs. Longbottom's top-secret family recipe."
"It's not that exaggerated," Neville said bashfully. "My Grandma just happened to discover that if you add a spoonful of Worcestershire sauce to meat pies, along with chopped roasted nuts, the flavor becomes much richer."
"Really? Then I have to try one!"
Ron eagerly grabbed a pie and took a huge bite. After chewing twice, his eyes immediately lit up, and he gave Neville a thumbs-up.
Hermione closed the book in front of her and gave Wade a warm smile, her eyes seeming to say, You're finally back.
Padma waved as well, muttering to herself, "To celebrate, one piece of cake wouldn't be too much, right?"
At last, she gave up fighting her stomach and quietly reached for a cupcake.
Fred and George also took a moment to turn around and wink at Wade. "Hey, Chief Consultant! Come judge the market potential of our Hiccuping Bubble Gum!"
Harry thought he had misheard. "What bubble gum?"
Wade smiled and sat in the seat they had deliberately saved for him. Everything was just as it had been before, as though he had merely spent a little extra time in the library.
Soon, his ears were filled with discussions about homework, matches, holiday plans, and Hiccuping Bubble Gum.
But Harry and Ron were not particularly good at hiding their emotions. After the initial relief